, 1887-03-23

AN ASAP OON0A0o OSA0JAAS OARNAoOo SOAAN~S
ed with the delivery can be enforced by law
and where there is nothing, nobody can be
paid. I therefore take the liberty to ask the
honorable planting body of the island, whether
they might not be found willing to give sup
port to the MISREPRESENTATION by engaging
the district-midwife of their estates, paying
her for such attendance a certain sum an
nually. The expenses would be very incon-
siderable, the advantages might be great. l
presume, that $8-10-12 annually accord
ing to the size of the estates would be sufh-
Gent to engage the services of the midwives,
as far as the estate labourers are concerned.
II. theological Statistics.
Statistics relating to the morbilitv, toevery
thing pertaining to sickness, have-outside
the hospitals,-hitherto not been cultivated in
the island. TIL importance of such statistics
both for science and for the general public
seems -so.evident, that every effort should be
made to obtain as exact and reliable nforma-
ton concerning these questions as possible.
The office of the ~Landphysicus has since
the 1st of January 1885 everymonth received
reports from the physicians of the island,
containing calculations, not alone concerning
the hospitals, but also-what must be con-
sldered of far greater general interest-con-
corning the work Of the physicians among the
population at large.
In order to make these reports as exhaus-
tive and as instructive as possible, l have re-
quested the physicians to give information
concerning the below mentioned relations:
1st The nature of the diseases.
End The number of new cases for each
month. The aggregate number for a year
consequently gives the number of cases at
tended to by the physicians in the course of
the year.
Ord The distribution OF the cases in the
towns and in the country.
4th The relation according to age, and
finally,
9Th The distribution of the cases accord
ing to population. For this latter purpose
the reports have 2 columns, one headed: "Ihe
eommon population" and one headed:
"all others" Under the first heading comes
the large general population, and it therefore
comprises all those, that never pay anything
themselves, for medical attendance, conse-
quently- all paupers and poor people, both Off
cial paupers and those virtually poor il. cases
OF sickness, and next the whole labouring
population in general, in as far as it gets
medical attendance. The heading "Others'
comprises all not included under the first
heading, and the difference may have been suti-
GENTLY distinctly Indicated. The latter o
prises patients, that compensate the physi-
can for his attendance to them or their fami-
lies, but the former such as do not compen-
sate the physician, and these latter may again
be divided into 2 classes. The first class com
prises those, for whose attendance no compen.
sation whatever is given for anyhow only by
public pay and the second class those cases,
in which the employer or somebody else may
pay. The relation between these 2 classes
can approximately be given thus, that the
first class contains about double, the number
of second class or more.
These Introductory remarks I have consider
ed necessary in order properly to understand
the following.
now intend giving a statistical resume for
the 2 years 1885 and 1886.
A. The year 1885.
Besides l 300 cases treated in hospitals the
general practice presents $40 cases as the
number of cases seeking medical aid. This
means, that 294 out of l 900 inhabitants have
been treated in general practice, or that 8
of every 10 inhabitants have been treated
outside the hospitals,
But the relation is very different in the
towns and in the country. The 2 towns to-
gether give 1910 cases. The population of
the 2 towns amounts to 8,419, consequently
$4,000, or very nearly 4 out of 10 have
sought medical aid nthe towns.
For the country 2,130 cases have occurred
amongst 10,011 individuals, which is equal to
010oLAo or a little mora than Q o114 ~ IN